This Yum! senior executive assistant is designing a life she loves and inspiring others to do the same

By day, Dia Pouchet is the senior executive assistant supporting Yum! Chief Digital & Technology Officer and Byte by Yum! President Joe Park. In this fast-paced environment where cutting-edge technology, AI and global scale drive innovation to transform Yum!’s restaurant operations and customer experiences, Pouchet keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes.

But when her workday ends, she steps into a different role: content creator, design educator and home styling enthusiast. Through her YouTube channel, “At Home with Dia,” she offers approachable, elegant design tips that inspire a growing community of thousands of viewers.

Her story reflects Yum!’s people-first culture, one that encourages employees to bring their full, multifaceted selves to work, passions included.

A global foundation in design

Pouchet’s love of design began with curiosity and creativity. She started almost three decades ago in her home country of Cyprus, styling window displays for holiday shops and booths at the Cyprus International Fair. That early spark led her to pursue an interior decorating degree while living in California in the 1990s. From there, she began taking on small, budget-friendly projects like flipping homes and staging properties for sale while maintaining a full-time job as an executive assistant, developing what she calls a practical, no-fuss approach to making spaces both stylish and functional.

“I was flipping homes before it was trendy,” she laughed. “I had to be creative with both time and money, so it taught me how to make a big impact with limited resources.”

Her life in motion only deepened that passion. Life and family circumstances have moved her 26 times across four continents, and she has absorbed design influences from every stop. “Living in so many countries taught me how to appreciate design that isn’t just pretty, but practical,” she said. “I learned to blend styles and cultural cues in a way that feels elevated but still livable.”

That global perspective grew even stronger when she took on a role managing large-scale office buildouts across countries like Vietnam, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica and across the Mediterranean. “That stretched me, but in the best way,” Pouchet said. “Every project had different teams, time zones and ways of working. I had to figure out how to stay organized, how to communicate across cultures and how to get creative when resources were limited.” The combination of hands-on residential design and commercial styling gave her a broad, adaptable skillset and a global design lens.

Today, her style reflects that journey. She describes her aesthetic as “soft modern with traditional touches,” favoring neutral tones, natural textures and a calming, cohesive flow. Her goal remains the same: to make a refined but approachable space feel like home.

Building “At Home with Dia”

After years working abroad, Pouchet returned to the U.S. in 2019 with a renewed sense of purpose and a desire to share her passion. With a deep love for teaching, she saw YouTube as the ideal platform to reach and inspire others. In 2023, she launched “At Home with Dia,” a channel dedicated to elegant, accessible home styling delivered with her signature no-fuss approach. Through actionable how-to videos, interior styling tips and clear explanations of her design principles, Pouchet uses the platform to empower viewers to create beautiful spaces of their own.

With no production team and limited gear, she learned as she went, teaching herself how to light, shoot, edit and publish videos solo. “I had to learn a lot of new tricks,” she said. “Filming yourself, styling for the camera and editing is a whole production, and I'm a team of one.”

Her style philosophy resonates with a wide audience, but especially with women who appreciate her grounded, timeless approach. A holiday decorating video helped her channel take off in late 2024, growing her subscriber count from 1,000 to over 9,000 in just a few weeks. But the momentum didn’t stop there. In June 2025, her video “Interior Design Secrets: How I Made My Small Space Look So Much Bigger” went viral with more than 125,000 views, pushing her subscriber count to almost 14,000. The channel continues to grow organically, driven by word of mouth and loyal viewer engagement.

“The comments are what keep me going,” Pouchet said. “I hear from viewers who’ve never felt confident decorating their own homes, or who say my videos make them feel calm and inspired. That emotional connection means everything.”

Balancing both worlds with intention

Juggling a full-time corporate role and a creative side hustle isn’t easy, but for Pouchet, the duality is energizing. “Being an executive assistant is highly strategic and fast paced,” she explained. “Design taps into the creative side of my brain. Switching between the two is what keeps me balanced.”

The support she’s received at Yum! has made all the difference. Leaders like Joe Park not only encourage Pouchet’s creativity, they celebrate it. “Dia brings her full self to work every day, and that includes her incredible creativity,” said Park. “I’ve always encouraged her to lean into that passion because it’s part of what makes her such a thoughtful, dynamic partner.”

Working on Yum!’s Digital & Technology team has also helped her elevate her creative process. “My work has encouraged me to tap into tools that make content creation just a little bit easier, like SEO-friendly dynamic titles, refining my script writing and even double-checking my tutorial thought process,” she said. “It’s a wonderful thing when design, decorating and creativity work hand-in-hand with technology.”

Balancing the two roles has shown Pouchet that passion projects can be just as fulfilling as professional ones. “I think it’s important for workplaces to make space for the full lives of their employees,” she said. “I feel fortunate to work at a company that encourages us to explore our passions and show up as our whole selves.”

In other words, Pouchet feels right at home at Yum!.